*Membership spots not really limited!

Whippersnapper

Please let me know what you think. Also, if there are any inkers or colorists out there who are interested in taking a stab at my work, let me know. Neither is really my forte, but I would love to see my work in all its glory.

Please let me know what you think. Also, if there are any inkers or colorists out there who are interested in taking a stab at my work, let me know. Neither is really my forte, but I would love to see my work in all its glory.

Rain Partier

My one advice for you is to not worry about the details on the characters so much right now. Work on loosening up your pencils. The details will come naturally.

What do you mean by loosening up the pencils?

Your lines seem stiff in that it looks like you're doing little hash marks when you're drawing a long curve (like a thigh for example). Try to draw it in one fluid line in one stroke.

The other question I have is what size are you working in? Paper wise. Be careful about trying to put too much onto a page if you're only working on 8x11. I do it all the time and the composition can feel clautrophobic.

My recommendation is do 30 second sketches (just 30 seconds and move on no matter what it looks like). Fill up a page with them, then start a new one. No one will say, "wow that looks cool" or anything like that, but it will help you loosen up your style.

My one advice for you is to not worry about the details on the characters so much right now. Work on loosening up your pencils. The details will come naturally.

What do you mean by loosening up the pencils?

Your lines seem stiff in that it looks like you're doing little hash marks when you're drawing a long curve (like a thigh for example). Try to draw it in one fluid line in one stroke.

The other question I have is what size are you working in? Paper wise. Be careful about trying to put too much onto a page if you're only working on 8x11. I do it all the time and the composition can feel clautrophobic.

My recommendation is do 30 second sketches (just 30 seconds and move on no matter what it looks like). Fill up a page with them, then start a new one. No one will say, "wow that looks cool" or anything like that, but it will help you loosen up your style.

Rain Partier

Oh, and strangely enough, that Blud Blood piece is easily the best of the 3. That one feels like you were just having fun. The lines are clean, but there's emotion to the piece. However you drew that, stick more with it. It is leaps and bounds over the other 2 pieces you posted.

Rain Partier

Oh, and strangely enough, that Blud Blood piece is easily the best of the 3. That one feels like you were just having fun. The lines are clean, but there's emotion to the piece. However you drew that, stick more with it. It is leaps and bounds over the other 2 pieces you posted.

Whippersnapper

jsalwen wrote:Oh, and strangely enough, that Blud Blood piece is easily the best of the 3. That one feels like you were just having fun. The lines are clean, but there's emotion to the piece. However you drew that, stick more with it. It is leaps and bounds over the other 2 pieces you posted.

Ok, I understand what you mean about loosening up the pencils. And you are entirely right that I tend to draw more in hash lines than a straight flowing lines. I definitely need to get better about it.

The diferent between the Blud Blood piece and the others is that I didn't do any breakdowns before I did the piece. I just started drawing. Plus it is a much larger shot than what I normally do so it negated that claustrophobic feeling.

The Hawkeye piece was definitely more hashed. The Iron Man piece looks more hashed because I was also erasing the breakdowns behind it, but didn't do a perfect job of it. There is some hashing though, particularly some places like the hands it is, but overall I find the lines rather crisp, compared to my other work.

The thing I have NEVER been good at was shading. That always killed me. I'd either over do it (more likely) or just leave it out. With computer coloring now it is possibly easier to leave it out since there is so much more variance in shades that can be used to create depth now than there was even 10 years ago.

Whippersnapper

jsalwen wrote:Oh, and strangely enough, that Blud Blood piece is easily the best of the 3. That one feels like you were just having fun. The lines are clean, but there's emotion to the piece. However you drew that, stick more with it. It is leaps and bounds over the other 2 pieces you posted.

Ok, I understand what you mean about loosening up the pencils. And you are entirely right that I tend to draw more in hash lines than a straight flowing lines. I definitely need to get better about it.

The diferent between the Blud Blood piece and the others is that I didn't do any breakdowns before I did the piece. I just started drawing. Plus it is a much larger shot than what I normally do so it negated that claustrophobic feeling.

The Hawkeye piece was definitely more hashed. The Iron Man piece looks more hashed because I was also erasing the breakdowns behind it, but didn't do a perfect job of it. There is some hashing though, particularly some places like the hands it is, but overall I find the lines rather crisp, compared to my other work.

The thing I have NEVER been good at was shading. That always killed me. I'd either over do it (more likely) or just leave it out. With computer coloring now it is possibly easier to leave it out since there is so much more variance in shades that can be used to create depth now than there was even 10 years ago.

Outhouse Editor

My recommendations would by some life drawing classes. That's not a dig at all, by the way. Your figure work is actually pretty well along. I just find that when ever anyone takes a life drawing class, they have just amped their level of skill. Their line work comes out better, their understanding of musculature works better and even their sense of composition is improved.

You can usually find community art classes in larger cities, so check around. You will be glad you did. Heck, even if you've taken them before, every time you participate you'll be boosting your skills.

Outhouse Editor

My recommendations would by some life drawing classes. That's not a dig at all, by the way. Your figure work is actually pretty well along. I just find that when ever anyone takes a life drawing class, they have just amped their level of skill. Their line work comes out better, their understanding of musculature works better and even their sense of composition is improved.

You can usually find community art classes in larger cities, so check around. You will be glad you did. Heck, even if you've taken them before, every time you participate you'll be boosting your skills.

Whippersnapper

I will definitely look into that. I was looking into some drawing classes when I was in DC, but they were all during the day and I couldn't schedule it around work.

I haven't drawn on a regular basis in around 7 years. I used to draw all the time in high school, but then I had a teacher who sucked the artistic life out of me. I tried to get back into it in college, but I was too busy with school and partying to do it on a regular basis. Then I moved to DC, where my work schedlue made me too tired to do anything beyond sleep or watch TV when I got home. now that I am back in San Diego and my schedule has lightened up, I have decided to try to pick it up again. I am definitely rusty. Some classes would definitely help. Thanks for the suggestion.

Whippersnapper

I will definitely look into that. I was looking into some drawing classes when I was in DC, but they were all during the day and I couldn't schedule it around work.

I haven't drawn on a regular basis in around 7 years. I used to draw all the time in high school, but then I had a teacher who sucked the artistic life out of me. I tried to get back into it in college, but I was too busy with school and partying to do it on a regular basis. Then I moved to DC, where my work schedlue made me too tired to do anything beyond sleep or watch TV when I got home. now that I am back in San Diego and my schedule has lightened up, I have decided to try to pick it up again. I am definitely rusty. Some classes would definitely help. Thanks for the suggestion.

Outhouse Editor

I was actually a Graphic Design major in College, so I drew pretty much constantly. Loved it. Still, when taking the upper level classes, the other students sort of sucked all that artistic life right out of me. There was a good two years where the only thing I drew was an occasional head shot.

The art group on Newsarama and my volunteering as a Graphic Designer for my church have gotten me to enjoy drawing yet and I've got a community to share with!

Outhouse Editor

I was actually a Graphic Design major in College, so I drew pretty much constantly. Loved it. Still, when taking the upper level classes, the other students sort of sucked all that artistic life right out of me. There was a good two years where the only thing I drew was an occasional head shot.

The art group on Newsarama and my volunteering as a Graphic Designer for my church have gotten me to enjoy drawing yet and I've got a community to share with!